


The Light

by tyellen_is_dreaming



Series: The Heffernan Triplets [1]
Category: Original Work
Genre: Lots of spiders - Freeform, Spiders, Visions, gonna add more as i post more
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2016-07-28
Updated: 2016-11-02
Packaged: 2018-07-27 07:21:06
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings, Graphic Depictions Of Violence
Chapters: 3
Words: 7,947
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/7608970
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/tyellen_is_dreaming/pseuds/tyellen_is_dreaming
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>After years, Chaos moves back to Eldritchland, the town where he was born, in hopes of letting all the tragedy behind. But Chaos will find more questions than answers about himself and from where he came from.</p>
            </blockquote>





	1. Let the Mess Start

**Author's Note:**

> This is gonna be a long ride. Principally for me. Enjoy.

Chaos looked at the gates through the windshield. They were old, probably as much as the forest surrounding the town, and, consequently, rusty. They also had a creepy look to it, like they protected a cemetery or something like it.  
He checked the pamphlet again. “A place where everyone fits in!”. It wasn't the sensation those gates gave.  
“Mom, why here? There are lots of better cities out there. And haven't you said you wouldn’t ever come back?”  
“I know, sweetie.” he smiled at that. “But I grew up in this old place! There are good memories hidden on those streets.” he couldn't help but flinch with this comment. Memories. He hated that word and it's meaning. “And you were born here, too! I'm sure you're gonna fit right in!” she winked at him, pointing to the damned phrase he had just read.  
Chaos didn't think it was that great. The forest they were currently in was deep and dark, like coming off a horror movie. The only way to the outside world was a thin trail that lead to a deserted highway. It was like the town was isolated from the world.  
“Hey, Chaos.” his mom had a sad smile on her face. “I swear it's gonna be different here. Better. You might not remember this place,” she turned the car on when the gates started to open. “but I do.”  
It seemed like she was trying to convince herself. And for her sake, he would act like he believed those words.  
\---  
“Oh, look who's there!” the other woman walked to them, arms opening to hug Chaos’ mother. “It's been a long time, Jen! Look how old we are!”  
His mother let out a laugh. Chaos eyed the other woman. Blonde hair that was cut really, really short, glasses with thick lenses, gray suit and red lipstick. 'Mayor’ he talked to himself.  
“Marjory! It's really been a long time!” the dark haired one hugged back.  
“What brought you back?” the mayor asked, clearly happy for meeting with her old friend.  
“Well…” his mom seemed to deflate. “You see, I have been through… some tragedies. So i thought a change of scenery could be good! By the way, this is Chaos.” she basically dragged the boy to stand next to her.  
“This is your son?!” they delved into pep talk.  
Bored, Chaos started looking around. Not far away from them, there was a big map. It would've just been common, if it didn't have something on it. When he walked over, he saw a big red smudge on a corner of the map with the words “KEEP AWAY” near it. He couldn't even see the street under it.  
“Excuse me!” he called the mayor.  
“Yes?”  
“What is this place?”  
Her face went pale instantly.  
“N-nothing! Let's go, I'll show you your new house!” she started walking in fast pace, not looking back.  
“So, an antiquary! This is so cool!” the chit chat apparently wasn’t stopping.  
By the thirty first seconds of the way, Chaos had already tuned them out. He was looking out the window, studying the places they were passing, when he saw a girl on the sidewalk.  
And he knew her very well.  
Chaos couldn't do nothing before it happened: everything went white, then the images started. The girl, wearing a white dress, smiling and crying. His classmates, throwing side glances at him. His father, saying he would come back for dinner. “You're a freak” flashing, white against black. Because it was what they started calling him. Freak, abomination, monster. He couldn't say how many times he heard those words. Friends turned into monsters. He never came back. They never saw her again. Because of him. It was his fault.  
“Look, son!” his mother's voice broke through the images. Another white flash, and his mother's face focused in front of him. “It is big! Bigger than our last house! Do you like it?”  
He blinked and looked towards the house his mom pointed at. An old, brownstone house. It had big windows on the ground floor and a large door.  
“It seems comfy.”  
“I know!” his mom was happy, and that was all that mattered for him. But he had to admit, the place looked cool. But he already didn't like the town. Not with what he saw earlier.  
The mayor clapped her hands.  
“Let me show you the place!”  
\---  
“You will really like this school!”  
The man turned on his seat, handing him a pile of papers.  
“If you need help, you can ask anyone around! We're always ready to help!”  
“Thank you, mister.” he got up to leave.  
“Just, please, stay away of… the strange kids.” the principal tapped his fingers on the table.  
“I'm sorry… who?”  
“As crianças do inferno…” the man started dozing off.  
He didn't understand it, but he archived this information, in case it was important.  
Chaos looked up and down the corridor. He needed to find his class, but the school was enormous and full of corridors that were dead ends.  
He couldn't even start walking before a fist collided to the wall next to his head.  
“Look at this!” the guy said, mockingly. “A new student! You don't have any idea what goes on here, do you?”  
The guy wore a red sweater with big white circles on it. It contrasted with his dark eyes and hair. His skin was also very pale. He had lots of chains coming from under his clothes and out of his mailbag. He was strange and even a bit menacing.  
“And you are?” Chaos asked, raising an eyebrow.  
“It seems like you don't know manners.” he was getting really annoyed, for some motive. “I'm Jeffrey. Jeffrey Heffernan.” the surname sent alarm bells ringing in his head for some motive.  
“I'm Chaos Kron.”  
“I don't think your real name is Chaos.” Jeffrey looked at him disbelieving.  
“No one ever calls me by my first name.” Chaos stepped away from him. “Can you be helpful and tell me in which direction is class 13?”  
“Listen here, man.” Jeffrey's voice had a menacing tone to it, dark and almost guttural. Chaos stiffened on the spot. “If you're gonna study here, you gotta know the rules. First, me and my sisters rule the place. What we tell you to do, you gonna do.” he stepped closer, making the taller one flinch slightly. “Second, what are you?”  
“What do you mean?” Chaos frowned.  
The guy opened his mouth to answer, but suddenly a girl grabbed his shoulder. They were identical, aside from the hair. His were curly, while hers were straight. 'Twins.’ he added on his mind.  
“Jef, we're gonna be late!” then she seemed to notice Chaos standing there. “You're new here? I bet your class is the 13, well, it is the only class, so you gotta come with us. Now!” she turned around and dragged her brother by the wrist.  
Chaos followed then. He liked the girl's style: ripped jeans, a baggy shirt with the words “Rock, food & girls” on it and some sneakers that apparently had been through a lot. Though he really didn't want to know what were those red stains on it, since she was as scary as the boy.  
He didn't have a very good feeling about both of them. But if they were going to take him to his class, then he would take the help gratefully. He would keep away from them later.  
\---  
“Today we have a rare occurrence on the school!” the woman said, clapping her hands. “Since some people tend to… scare newcomers away.” she winked, and the class fell into laughter. “We have a new student! Please, say your name and where you came from to the class.”  
“I'm Chaos.” he said, quite nervous. “And I prefer to don't comment about my last city."  
"Oh, but," the teacher seemed to be freaking out. "can you tell us where tou were born?" "Here?" he made a confused face. "I was born in Eldritchland?" “Good to know!" everyone seemed to relax. "Welcome back, Chaos.”  
The entire class started talking at the same time. He could only grasp some things, like “Welcome back!”, “You're gonna have fun here!”, “Oh, thanks, he's not gonna be killed.”, “Do you think he likes sports?”, “Are you single?” and “I bet he's moving to the Crawford's old house.”  
“Go sit behind Dakota, please.” the teacher said to him  
A girl on the back of the class raised her hand slightly and smiled to him, signaling she was Dakota, but a voice interrupted them.  
“Teacher? Can it be another person to sit here? We would be fine with anyone, really! Alex, Max, Shirley, anyone but the newcomer!”  
It was easy to find the one talking. Jeffrey's sweater was anything but discreet.  
“Jeffrey, I don't want to reconfigure the whole sitting chart only because of your little concepts. You know we don't have time for that. Go, Chaos. And if any of them bothers you, just tell me. I've been needing a reason to send them back into detention.”  
Everyone in the class seemed apprehensive at that. Jeffrey was fuzilating the wall with his eyes. Dakota had a small apologetic smile to him when he approached the desk behind her, but he almost didn't notice it, too distracted with the other people around them.  
Apparently, Jeffrey and the girl weren't twins: they were triplets. The other girl seemed exactly like Jeffrey, but with longer hair. The two girls had the same bored expression on their faces. It would be impossible to don't make the connection between them.  
The guy sitting in front of Dakota, however, was way stranger. His skin had a reddish tone, his hair was strange in a way Chaos couldn't comprehend and his eyes were completely abnormal: the left one was almost entirely black, with a white circle on the center, and in the right one it seemed that the pupil occupied the most part of eye, without iris, just a white line around it, and two white circles on the inner part. And his mouth was sewn closed.  
Dakota wasn't very normal, either. She had 11 white dots organized into two ranks across her nose that seemed to glow against her dark skin. Her left eye was ambar, but her right one was covered with a lace eyepatch. And her hair was gigantic.  
Honestly, Chaos had seen stranger things. He could deal with those five. At least, the rest of the class seemed pretty normal.  
It was going to be a long year.  
\---  
“Mom, really, I'm telling you.” Chaos said, lifting a box. “I'll carry the heavier boxes.”  
“Thank you, sweetie.” Jen turned around, looking at him. “So… how was your first day?”  
“My classmates look demoniac, a guy wearing a dress plays basketball better than me and I'll probably die here if I don't get to appease this other guy that apparently don't like me, without motives too.” he pulled a vase out of the box. A vase made of pure stone.  
“What?” his mom blinked. “Oh, well. You're smiling. And that's all that matters for me.” she put a glass ornament a little bit farther from the edge of a cupboard. “You used to break everything made of glass … Do you remember?”  
“Yes.” he laughed. “And still managed to never cut myself.”  
“You're truly a lucky child. Go arrange your room before dinner, or you'll have to sleep in the floor.”  
It took him less than he would like to organize his things. He preferred to leave everything behind. To don't remember. To don't see.  
Chaos looked up just in time to see a shadow on his window. It had a humanoid appearance, but it disappeared as soon as he noticed it. He took a long breath. No images, no flashes.  
Either way, before he went to sleep, he closed the curtains. Better safe than sorry.  
But he wasn't dreaming. He was in a gray landscape. In the distance, he could recognize his old house.  
He couldn't take any step, however, because chains covered his vision and dragged him down, the floor seeming to melt under him. He could hear a voice shouting “NO!” right before his head went under. There was a white flash, and then things started appearing.  
A knife flying across his vision, hitting against someone. A smile with pointy teeth. Smoke coming out of someone's mouth. A golden necklace with an ethereal look. Plants curling around legs. Blood. Lots of bloods. Tears falling on the floor. Someone calling his name. A man saying “War”, over and over again.  
Another white flash, and then Chaos woke up by falling out of his bed.


	2. The Book, The Forest and The Spider

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Chaos' curiosity tended to get the best of him.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I finally finished this one. Finally.  
> Just a warning, but there's lots of spiders on this chapter. Lots. Really. Though i don't mention them that much, I don't want anyone to freak out, so...  
> Hope you enjoy it!

Chaos wasn't even impressed with all this.  
He arrived earlier at school to check some papers in, only to find the weird red-skinned guy sitting on a chair in front of the Secretary, humming to himself and writing on a notebook. Chaos wasn't sure, but apparently his name was Kill.  
He reached for the door handle when suddenly there was a loud sound behind him. He turned to verify that the other had punched a chair to call his attention. He was holding his notebook up for Chaos to see. “No one's there.”  
“And where are they?” he asked, leaning against the wall.  
“Watch out, spider.” Chaos made a face at the animal. It was the third spider he found that day and he wasn't happy about it. “I don't have any idea. Usually there's at least someone there, but I've been here for an hour and no signal of them.”  
“Strange. But, well, I guess I'll have to wait.” there was a short silence before Kill raised his notebook again.  
“You can always go to the library. There are some interesting books there. But check if Ginger's there, or she'll make you dead with her excited talking.”  
Ginger. The curly haired girl who was one of the triplets. She was as scary as her brother, but her eyes seemed to promise a lot more of pain and agony. He sighed.  
“I guess. Is Ginger the librarian?”  
Kill nodded. “Stay away from the shelves on the north side of the place. If you touch it, you'll probably be turned into dust by her. Good luck.”  
Chaos thanked the guy and followed his instructions through the school. He slowly stepped around another spider he found on the way. He had never seen so many spiders in a day before.  
He entered the nursery part of the school. Since the town was small, one building offered everything they needed. Though, to be honest, there were few kids on the town. He didn't knew why, but the most part of the town had more than 30 years, and the younger ones seemed to have his age. Then there were some three years old, like everyone who was born between that times had disappeared. Or never been born.  
Opening the door cautiously, Chaos checked inside. No one in sight. The space was big and full of shelves that reached the ceiling. He sighed. It gave him lots of memories. From the corner of his eye he saw her. Her white dress flowing while she pulled a book out of a shelf. He blinked, and she wasn’t there anymore.  
He looked around, evaluating the books. Until he arrived at the farthest side of the library. Around six shelves were isolated with a yellow police line, though only one had books. It was so far away he couldn’t read the titles. He was decided to obey the rules and ignore the shelves, but his curiosity won. Checking behind him one last time, he jumped over the line.  
Those books were older than the others in library, definitely. They were all deteriorated and dirty. Lots of them had unidentifiable marks on their spines. Some were on languages Chaos hadn’t ever seen. But they all seemed to have dark themes. One was called Necromancy, other called Dismemberment for beginners. He made a face at that one. And Witchcraft for Cemetery Witches wasn’t that much better.  
Not wanting to touch those in case they were some prank, Chaos turned around to walk back. But, by the second time that day, a sound made he turn around.  
A book had fallen on the ground from the shelf. But what really worried Chaos was the thing hovering over it, with a worried look on it’s face: himself. He looked sick and tired. His strange vision clone pointed at the book with a face that clearly said “urgent”. Then, with a flash of white, it disappeared.  
It wasn’t a prank. No one could pull that one up. They tried once, on his former school, but he knew when they were real. And that was real. He walked to the book and took it with care. Demonology vol. I.  
Something flared on his mind suddenly, but he couldn’t grasp it before it went away. This seemed to happen a lot with him on this town. The author of the book, on the other side, sent alarms blaring. J.H.  
He heard the door to the library opening, and without thinking too much threw the book inside his backpack and ran to get out of the isolated area. Looking through some books on a shelf, he could see Ginger getting behind the librarian table. He took a deep breath before getting out of his hiding spot.  
Chaos swore Ginger would kill him after he accidentally startled her.  
“Oh, hey. Chaos, isn’t it?” she said with a forced smile. “Have you been here for a long time?”  
“No, not much.” he lied. “I was looking around, but nothing got my attention. Anyways, I’ll come another day, maybe I’ll find something. But I don’t wanna hold you up, you probably have a lot to do. See you later.” he walked as casually as possible out of the place, her glare burning his back. She seemed a little desperate as she cautiously made her way to the area he had just been. Her eyes didn’t leave the boy until the doors closed behind him  
Once out, he sighed loudly. That was close. She probably knew he was hiding something, but for now he was safe. Chaos decided it was enough emotion for just his second day there when he noticed it again. A shadowy figure standing behind some lockers. He really hoped it was just another of his visions. So he kept walking.  
It wasn’t being a very good day for Chaos.  
\---  
Chaos approached the teacher during the break. She was the only teacher they had, differently from his old school. She was a very cool woman, and if it wasn’t for her posture in class, she could easily pass as a student.  
“Excuse-me, miss Lehrer.” she adjusted her dark hair in a bun. “I wanted to make some questions…”  
“Oh, Chaos! Sure, ask away.” she gestured for him to sit down in the desk in front of her table. Chaos remembered that the guy who wore a dress sat there. By the signature on the doodles on the table (that consisted of monsters and spaceships), his name was Alex.  
“Yesterday, when I presented to class, you said a new student was a rare occurrence because they were always scared away. What does that mean?” it had been bothering him since she said it. Everything in this town bothered him.  
“Oh, well.” suddenly she looked nervous. “That’s a question I can’t answer properly. But to resume, there are only some people who moved here and are still here. Or alive. I can count them in one hand. But really, don’t worry about it. Who’s born here is safe. Unless you do something really bad. Really bad. Though, you don’t seem like the type, so you’ll be okay. Just stay away from the kids from hell, in any case.” the teacher sighed.  
“Wait.” this term made him frown. “Who?”  
“The kids from hell. The principal gave them this name, but they seemed to like it.” she made a face. “I think he used his native language version, though. As crianças do inferno…?”  
Chaos felt his stomach churn. He really wanted to shut his brain alarms down. They seemed to be more on than normal recently.  
“And… who exactly are them?” she gave him a dark look while gathering her things on her arms.  
“The Heffernan triplets.”  
\---  
“Hey, Chaos.” Dakota called.  
He was sitting on a bench on the park across the school after the classes ended. His mom was shopping for food, so he didn’t have a motive to go back home yet. Chaos watched the soccer game being played by his classmates not far from him. Even in a skirt, Alex was making everyone exhausted trying to take the ball from him.  
He turned to her. Honestly, from everyone he met at the school (around 15 people, all from his class) Dakota was the one he liked the most. She was sweet with him and tried to help him fit in. He didn’t think he would ever be able to thank her enough.  
“Hey, Kota.” he waved at her.  
She came dragging Kill by the wrist. The boy seemed unfazed, walking at his own pace. He was holding his notebook in one hand and a pencil on the other. The page it was open on depicted an amazing drawing of a dragon.  
“Kill wants to know if you would want self-defense classes.” the guy nodded agreeing, before adjusting Dakota’s eyepatch. From the interactions he had seen, the two seemed like siblings.  
“And why would you offer it to me? You think I can’t take care of myself?” he said jokingly, but his smile faltered at the worried glances the two exchanged.  
“We think you can do just fine. Is just that this town is…” Kota stopped, trying to think of something. “William, stop joking and help me.” she said, suddenly turning to Kill. He shrugged. “Oh, yeah, that’s the word.” she smiled approvingly at the red one. “This town is just secretive. And those secrets can hurt.”  
Chaos looked at Kill, who was smirking to his friend. With his stitched mouth, it was slightly disturbing. He thought about what she said. Just those two, right there, showed how “secretive” the town was. They didn’t seem normal, not even close. They didn’t even seem human-  
He suddenly remembered the book hidden in his backpack. After three hours of listening to their teacher discuss with Alex and his cousin, the “robot” girl Max, about some ancient civilizations no one cared about, anyone would be bored and lost in thoughts. He ended up forgetting it.  
“Hm, nah, sorry. I gotta help mom with the antiquary, I don’t have time.” he said, smiling to them. It wasn’t really a false smile. He was starting to like them both.  
“Alright, then.” anyone could tell Dakota was apprehensive to let it drop, but Kill gave her a pat on the back and a soft smile and she seemed to relax. “Well, I hope everything turns good.” she bit her lip and they left with that comment on the air.  
Shaking that bad feeling, Chaos checked nobody was around before pulling the book out. It looked very, very old, older than the other books on the library, but it was well kept. It had a dark leather cover, with the corners all teared up. The name of the book and the author were silver and kinda fancy. The spine had a small green mark that, upon close inspection, turned to be nail polish. Weird was the only thing that came to his mind. The yellow pages seemed like they were going to turn into dust in his fingers.  
He opened the book. On the first page there was a note. It didn’t seem too old, maybe a fear years, since the ink was disappearing in some parts. “If you’re lost in this world, this book will be your guide. But, if you follow it blindly, you might get in danger. Listen to the notes.” It was signed by Samael.  
With an eyebrow raised, Chaos opened on a random page. The image that occupied half of the left page wasn’t as worrying as the things the text depicted.  
“Fire demons can raise the temperature of the air with their bodies, making fire, thus the name of the species. Their powers consist-” the rest of the paragraph didn’t interest Chaos that much. Something about the science behind their powers and such. “One of their principal attacks is the fireball. A mass of-” not interested. “Their weakness is water, as one might expect. It’s still unknown how to kill a fire demon.” it would be disappointing, if not for the note on the side declaring that “might be killed by piercing the heart.”  
What was really disturbing Chaos was the next part. It described the “species” forms of torture and punishment, and even mating. He personally disliked the part that said they burned their partners alive after mating.  
The only thing that distracted him from the book was the sudden sensation of something crawling on his leg. He sent the spider flying far away. Nops. He wasn’t dealing with that today. Not a black widow.  
The white flash came, followed by the images and sounds: a black widow walking over a white dress; a bell like laugh resonating through the air; the spider being put on it’s cage; himself, joking that it was an evil being ready to devour their hearts; the laugh again; the cage was broken, glass shard flying everywhere; the spider trying to crawl out the window; tears falling to the ground in rhythm.  
He only got back to reality when another spider decided to go under his pants leg. And that’s when he noticed the spider trail just by the side of the bench. He got up immediately. The trail was big, going from the school doors across the street, through the empty volleyball field and going to the forest. It was a mix of spiders, that ranged from the little ones everyone had on their houses to black widows and the kinds that you would stay very far from.  
It was strange enough that they walked in a line or marched at the same time, but it was stranger that they all evicted Chaos when he approached them, while they didn’t care about the other people on the way. The same black widow who got his attention two times before got out of under his pant and crawled over to his shoulder. He side eyed it.  
“Charlotte.” he shook his head slightly, trying to not disturb she. “What do you want me to know?”  
The spider turned in the direction of the forest and raised her front legs, like pointing it out to him. He sighed, taking his backpack and putting the book back in. He started following the trail, Charlotte on his shoulder. Every time he approached the trail too much the spiders would disperse a little, but they never stopped walking. He just hoped he wouldn’t turn into food.  
The last thing he saw before entering the darkness was the shadowy figure standing besides the bench.  
\---  
Chaos didn’t know how long he had been walking. It was at least half an hour. He was too lazy to get his phone to check it out. It was calming, in a weird, kinda creepy way.  
The threes were very tall and so full of leaves that formed a canopy and rendered the place seeming like an immense ballroom full of pillars. The sun couldn’t pass through the leaves, so the place was dark, so much that Chaos ended tripping on lots of roots. He didn’t hear nothing there, no sounds, be it the wind or birds or even the soft sounds of the town. The only flower he saw was a carnivorous one that had apparently had lunch with one or more of the spiders. The flowers and even the trees were all dark.  
The only way he was able to keep going the right direction was because of some spiders who were glowing with the lack of light. Charlotte had tucked herself against his neck, hiding in his hair. He wondered if he should cut it, after all it already reached his shoulders.  
He was pondering that question when he first heard it. Talking. It was kinda far away but he could hear it. The spiders seemed to be directed towards it. Charlotte suddenly moved, climbing his head. She turned immobile once atop his head. He couldn’t say if she disappeared on his hair or if she looked like a hat.  
He hid behind a tree when he saw something flaring not very far. He approached it slowly, still hiding, until he could hear the talk and see the people. He regretted it instantly.  
“I’m telling you! Just burn them alive!”  
“Shut up, I’m listening to them.”  
There were two people on a clearing, a guy and a girl. Chaos sighed. He couldn’t meet someone normal, could he? The guy had yellow glowing skin, red fire-like hair and black eyes that seemed like charcoal. He only wore a dark blue shorts. The girl… Well, she had black skin and red hair, but from the waist down she had the body of a black widow. She also had eight eyes: two that any human had, two on her cheeks, and four distributed on her forehead.  
He made a face. Four spiders constructed an enormous web behind the two, as big as the girl, while she bended over with her ear close to the spiders on the floor. The guy was walking around stomping the floor. He was setting the leaves he stepped over on fire.  
“I didn’t wait 198 years for that!” he screamed. “They said I could set things on fire! That’s the only motive I joined them! And what they do?! Give me a job where I can’t even burn a human!”  
“Stop complaining already.” she glared at him. “I have been waiting for 221 years, more than you! And I’m happy with it!”  
“Because you’re doing something, and not just standing around!”  
“You’re my bodyguard.”  
“Reduced to a spider’s bodyguard. What kind of demon am I?!”  
Demon. The word sent a sour taste to Chaos’ mouth. He blinked, suddenly recalling the book on his backpack. Fire demon, a part of his brain filled for him. They’re both demons.  
“Done.” she said, turning to the web. “I’ll be able to open a communication channel in some seconds, so control yourself.”  
Chaos guessed the other demon wasn’t listening anymore. He let out a shout and raised his hand. A fireball formed in his hand, and he threw it in a random direction. But, for Chaos’ probable demise, it hit the tree he was using as a hiding spot.  
He screamed (who wouldn’t) when the tree caught on fire, jumping in plain sight of the two. They both screamed too.  
“Abort!” she said. Turning to the web, she opened some kind of black void on it and passed through.  
“And me?!” the other screamed before her, and then turned to Chaos when the thing closed. “Disgusting being! What are you doing here?! I thought all your kind was dead!”  
“Hm, humans reached the 8 billion and half meter, you know, right?” he couldn’t keep his mouth shut.  
“Humans?! I would prefer humans than your kind!” Chaos noticed he never stopped shouting and tended to repeat himself. He should be scared, but in reality he was really annoyed.  
“And what am I?” he asked calmly.  
“What you…!” the demon seemed really angry. “I’m gonna kill you! I will win an award for that! I know it!”  
Suddenly Chaos received a punch in the stomach that sent him flying backwards. His back hurt a lot, but honestly it was less than he expected. A lot less, considering that now he was on the other side of the clearing. He raised his head, only to find the demon raising another fireball, this time targeted at him.  
The demon took a step forward, and Chaos expected it to be his end. But then, something came out of the trees really fast and jumped in front of the demon, effectively distracting it. Startled, he recognized Jeffrey.  
“My forest.” he growled.  
Chaos could only blink as Jeffrey stabbed the demon’s heart with a dagger. Blood started to flood from the being while it screamed, staining Jeffrey’s white shirt and trickling down his arms. Chaos could only register some red marks on Jeffrey’s arms before it was totally covered in blood.  
Jeffrey pulled his arm back, and the corpse fell on the floor. Ignoring it, the guy turned to Chaos.  
“What the fuck do you think you’re doing in the forest?!” he was fulminating, both figuratively and literally, since the blood was releasing steam. “Do you wanna die?! You can find simpler ways to do it!”  
“Following a trail of spiders.” he answered honestly.  
“What the fuck?!” Jeffrey repeated.  
There was a short moment of heavy silence where Chaos registered the lack of the red sweater. He blinked and looked Jeffrey with the corner of his eyes. It was kinda strange, and some thought was giving Chaos a headache while he tried to grasp it. Finally, Jeffrey huffed.  
“Don’t tell what happened here to anyone. Not even my sisters. Not a word. Or I’ll kill you. You never saw it, nor me. And never come back to the forest, understood?” Chaos nodded weakly. “Good.” he went as fast as he came.  
Chaos whistle lowly. He got up and looked around. Jeffrey had clearly left a trail out of the forest: blood on the trees. He noticed strange markings on some of the trees, but he wasn’t up for that right now. He looked down when he felt something on the leg of his pant.  
“Hey, Charlotte. Crazy day, huh? Let’s go home. You will be living for me from now on.” he started walking when he had an idea. “We will make a stop first.”  
\---  
The street was deserted. There was only a trailer and two constructions there: a two-stores house and a small “cubicle” without windows and only one door. He was directed there.  
Chaos knocked on the door. He waited on place with Charlotte on his shoulder until it was opened. Kill seemed really surprised to see him.  
“Can I still take those self-defense classes?”


	3. When the Clock Hits Midnight...

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Chaos has to save a classmate before one of his visions come true.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> AAAAAAAAAAAH  
> This chapter took me so long to write. In reality, this chapter is even bigger, but I had to cut it in half or I would only post it on Christmas (or next year ;u;).  
> So, here, enjoy that. Hopefully I'll finish the other part soon.

When he signed to Kill’s self-defense classes, he wasn't expecting this level of self-defense.  
It had been just one week after the forest incident. He did as Jeffrey ordered, not telling anyone. Kill wanted to know why he changed his mind, but he refused to tell him. Honestly, he wasn't thinking about that anymore. Not with the craziness he was enduring.  
Kill was holding a katana pointed at Chaos. The guy was supposed to get to the other side of the room, get the sword there and disarm Kill.  
But the training room was enormous, even being hidden under that cement block, Kill was amazing with weapons (Chaos saw things that made his mind on not infuriating the guy, ever) and Dakota blasting music behind him wasn't helping.  
Chaos had “learned” body to body combat in two days. Turns out dealing with those kids on school served for something good. And then, Kill gave him a sword. 4 days later and he was still really confused.  
“Why?” he complained, looking at the katana and gesturing vaguely to Kota. “Do I really need to learn this?”  
“Yes, you do!” Kota exclaimed. “You're gonna be fine. I've seen you combating before. Now, go!” she raised the volume.  
Chaos sighed, getting ready and ignoring the girl. He did dodge the first attack, but then, a white flash made him lose his grip on reality.  
He saw an explosion, right in front of his eyes. He was standing on an area he recognized as the city’s park. Looking around, he could see some people around like usual. The clock on the corner struck ten.  
That’s when things changed. Beings appeared out of nowhere. They were stranger and scarier than any of the demons he met, but it was easy to identify what they were. They attacked the people immediately. One came running to his direction, but he didn’t even move. It passed right through him and got a businesswoman that was standing frozen. When her cellphone fell, Chaos checked the date. Tonight, he provided to himself.  
He tried really hard to ignore all the gore going on around him. He had seen worse things on his dreams, way worse. Things that made him, for an example, not be scared of demons, or smart spiders, or someone killing a demon right in front of him. But, sometime, it still hurt him. Even more because he knew that, if he didn’t control himself, he would end up causing that situation upon them.  
Suddenly, silence. He couldn’t hear even the growling of those monsters. He looked up. People were around again, exactly like they were. The businesswoman looked at her phone in concentration. The clock struck ten again. The demons reappeared.  
He watched confused as the bloodshed happened again, and again, again. After the third time, he spoke up, right before the clock did it’s part.  
“What if there was no one there?” the humans disappeared when the demons surged forward. They started attacking each other, blood of different colors flying around.  
He couldn’t process much before the flesh of white, and Chaos found himself laying on the floor of the arena, gasping for air while Kill shook his shoulders, a worried expression on his face. He could hear Kota’s voice in the distance talking desperately. Probably in a cell phone.  
He got up a little shakily.  
“I gotta go.” Kill made a face to him, trying to contest. Kota had stopped talking. “I need to go. Right now. You don’t get it, but it’s important.”  
He didn’t wait for the answer, getting his backpack and running away. He ignored the shouts from the girl. He needed to do something, and fast.  
\---  
“You have to set a curfew for tonight.”  
“And what should I tell the citizens?” the mayor shook her head. “I’m sorry Chaos, but I can’t do it. It will have horrible repercussions.”  
He had ran all the way to the town hall to talk with her. Granted, the town wasn’t big (not even close to the city Chaos lived before), but it was on the other side of the town from Kill’s house. He wasn’t even with his bicycle and he had been training the whole day. Plus, visions. It drained out his energy.  
When he arrived, he half expected to find someone who would block his entrance, because “the mayor is occupied”, or “you need to mark a meeting beforehand”, or even “too busy to attend random people appearing there”. He had already heard those lines said to him, incontable times. But the secretary just smiled and gave him directions to the mayor’s office.  
She had received him with a warm smile and offered him a chair, but he refused. He knew that if he sat down he would end up falling asleep. Standing up, he was practically begging her to do as he asks.  
“Horrible repercussions will be an understatement if what I saw turns to be true.” Chaos was holding the straps of his backpack so tight his knuckles were white. The pain coming from them was helping him concentrate.  
“You saw?” she asked, frowning at him.  
“I give up. Look, I tried to act like everyone else does, but I know what some of those people are. Demons.” she flinched, her eyes widening almost comically. “I don’t mind it, because I’ve seen worse. Because I’m not exactly normal either. I have visions, I see things nobody else does. And what I saw today…” he shivered. “At least 12 people will die. Unless you set that curfew. If there’s nobody there, they will kill each other. Demons, the ones that clearly aren’t civilized.” he stopped  
to think. “Some of them seemed like animals. Wild ones. The ones that might eat you alive, probably will. I’m just asking you to protect your people. If everyone here acts the same way towards demons, you can just say it’s because of them. It’s not like you would be lying.”  
She blinked at him. Chaos noticed her fingers were curled around a pen the same way Kill held a deadly dart. He really hoped she wasn’t thinking about using it on him.  
“Visions? Are you a Light?”  
“A what?” good, there they go, confusing him again. He needed a break from this town already.  
“A Light, with capital L.” his expression was still blank. “Think back to your life. Have your mother ever told you about the day you were born? Was it-” she was interrupted by a loud banging on her door. “Come in, and don’t break it! It’s brand new after the last time you were here!”  
Chaos cringed when a disheveled Jeffrey entered the room. He was puffing so hard Chaos worried they would have to call an ambulance for him. Or for himself, as his energy reached a very low level.  
“Mayor! We have an emergency! There are rumors that tonight at ten o’clock-” he was cut by the mayor.  
“It seems like you were right, Chaos.” she turned to him. “I’ll set the curfew. Everyone should be inside by ten. I’m really proud of you.”  
Her smile made him relax instantaneously. He fled from the office as fast as he could in his state. Jeffrey was staring at him, jaw wide open. The last things Chaos heard before turning a corner was the woman’s voice saying:  
“I’m not gonna explain. Go home. I’m taking care of it. Just let him be. You don’t know what he is.” this last part sounded really somber.  
He just walked faster.  
\---  
His head hadn’t even met the pillow when he fell asleep. Chaos expected some visions, definitely not what he saw afterwards.  
She was standing right in front of him. He saw his old room behind her, but he couldn’t move. She started speaking. Her voice sounded strange; each word had a different tone, like taken from different conversations. It still had this melodic tone to it.  
“You need to get up. Get up and fight. Fight for them. Fight for me.”  
“I can’t fight…” he was able to say.  
“You can.” she smiled. Her dark skin contrasting with the white dress left him dizzy. “You need to fight. Show them what you’re worth! Be brave! Cause chaos…” that mischievous smirk, the pun he heard hundreds of times before, “And give them a chance. You will see what I’m talking about soon. You need to know they’re in problem just like you are.” her hands slowly raising to cup his cheeks, “Now, I think someone needs you. It’ll help to prove to yourself that you’re capable. And, Chaos… Never forget your-” she disappeared in a white flash right before touching him.  
He let out a silent sob.  
“Grace.”  
Suddenly, he was falling out of bed. Though, it seemed like he was thrown out of it. He was way farther than what could be considered normal in this situation, the sheets were falling weirdly around and his mattress laid half of the bed frame.  
Chaos wanted to just curl up and cry, but a sound from his phone obliged him to get up. A message, from a number he never saw before:

[9:34 p.m.] xxxxx-xxxx: Hello, Chaos. This is Max, your classmate. The school supplied me with your number. I’m texting you to ask if you have seen my cousin, Alex, on recent hours. He has been out since 3:00 p.m. We think he might not have heard about the curfew while out. He tends to get distracted with things. Please, answer this message immediately if you saw him. Thank you for the attention. Max

He couldn’t help but flinch reading the text. Her words coming back like a wave over him. Someone needs you… Prove that you’re capable… What do you want from me?, he mentally asked.  
Of course he didn’t receive an answer. She rarely talked to him. He went to put the phone back on his nightstand when the white flash made his knees buckle. He saw only one image, but it was enough to send him into a frenzy.  
He knew were Alex was. And he also knew that if he stayed there, nobody would see him ever again.  
\---  
“Where are you going, young boy?” Jen’s voice was harsh.  
“To a friend’s house.” he answered. Lying had become too easy to him for his own liking.  
“The curfew starts in 10 minutes. You’re not going anywhere outside.”  
“But-”  
“Co-” she cut herself abruptly. Chaos tensed up. “Chaos Kron, to your bedroom, now.”  
He couldn’t obey her this time. He climbed the stairs quickly, ignoring the nagging voice on his mind pointing out that his mom was sad. He would deal with that later.  
Chaos only got 12 minutes before the clocks downstairs started a ruckus. 12 minutes until ten.  
Alex was on the park, sleeping a bench. He was holding a camera and, judging by the book open on his lap, hunting for monsters. Chaos heard rumors that he wanted to find some kind of exotic creature (“More exotic than the ones we know”, someone pointed out, side-eyeing him on the corridor) and try to train them to act like human beings. Not a very good idea, in Chaos’ opinion, with demons around.  
Chaos couldn’t send anyone looking for him, not even his cousin. They would both get hurt. He will too, probably, but he knows he’s harder to hurt than other humans. Besides, he had the book, and visions, and wasn’t caring if he got hurt if it meant he could save someone else’s life.  
With some difficult, he opened one of the windows of his room. Through the window only opened partially, he could still pass through the space it provided.  
“One part done.” he grumped to himself, standing very cautiously at the antiquary’s sign. “Now the hard one.”  
Chaos wasn’t a fan of heights. He wasn’t afraid, per se, he was just worried someone would fall and get hurt. Right at that moment, he was that someone. He had his fair share of heights in school. Once, a group of kids locked him in the top of the building. He had to climb down two of the four floors through the outside to get back inside. He got a detention for that.  
Using the sign as leverage, he let his body fall over the edge and stop shaking before letting go of it. His legs hurt a little from the fall, but, evicting the windows, he got his bicycle and started pedaling down the street.  
He got to the park in record time. Still, there were only 3 minutes left when he arrived. He stopped right besides the boy. He thanked all the beings he could remember that the guy was wearing pants and a jacket. It was freezing outside.  
Shaking the boy awake, he looked around worried.  
“Alex, wake up, we need to go, right now.”  
“What?” he yawned. “Hey, Chaos. Why’re you here? Oh, are you investigating the conspiracy too?”  
“Which- You know what, forget it. Climb up on the bicycle. We only got-”  
The clock made a loud sound when it reached ten o’clock.


End file.
